Drawing from a vast spectrum of traditional American rural and urban roots music, The Wiyos transport listeners back to the days when acoustic, handmade music could be heard on live radio and at community dances, juke joints, and house parties. Their song combines original compositions with covers from Tin-pan Alley to Western swing, and features rustic sounds of the 1920s and 1930s as well as electric post-modern sound-scapes with smart lyrics. Seamlessly fusing vintage with contemporary sounds, The Wiyos have emerged as a hallmark band in the resurgence of traditional American music over the past decade.

The Wiyos’ show is as visually exciting as it is sonically evocative. With infectious exuberance and theatrical skill, they create a visual spectacle in the tradition of vaudeville-esque performers such as Fats Waller, the Hoosier Hotshots, and Uncle Dave Macon. The Wiyos’ current tour features new music from their original song cycle based on “The Wizard of Oz.”

After thousands of concerts across tens of thousands of miles, Ungar and Merenda have emerged as one of acoustic America’s most revered musical duos. As story-tellers, as singers, as poets, and as parents (they tour with their two small children), Merenda and Ungar are heralds of an American cultural awakening, one that values honesty and togetherness, one that prefers grit to glitz and one that - in the face of an information super-highway - revels in the old-fashioned telling of a story.

Tickets are $17 for general and $15 for students and seniors. For ticket reservations and information call (802) 254-9276 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com.

The concert is held at Next Stage at 15 Kimball Hill. JD McCliment’s Pub will provide a beer and wine cash bar. For more information visit www.thewiyos.com and www.mikeandruthy.com.

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